Bruce Baillie, one of the leading figures in underground film history, will be attending this year’s Ann Arbor Film Festival as part of the fest’s 50th anniversary spectacular on March 27 to April 1. He will be at the event to present three programs of his work.

Baillie has had a long association with the AAFF, having screened a mini then-retrospective of his films at the festival’s very first year in 1963.

In addition to making classic avant-garde films such as To Parsifal (1963), Quick Billy (1971) and Castro Street (1966), Baillie was also the founder of the Canyon Cinema distribution cooperative and a co-founder of the San Francisco Cinematheque.

For their 50th anniversary, AAFF will be inviting several returning filmmakers to participate in the celebration.